Southland Professional Gardeners Help
to Reduce Region's Air Pollution

$270 Incentive Offered to Exchange Backpack Leaf Blowers

Registration started today for the region’s popular leaf blower exchange program where 1,500 older, highly polluting backpack leaf blowers will be exchanged for new, low-emission and lower-noise models.

Exchanging the older backpack blowers for new ones will help protect public health by reducing at least 14 tons of smog-forming pollution a year.

“By participating in this program, gardeners are helping to clean the air and protect their health by reducing their personal exposure to harmful smog-forming emissions,” said William A. Burke, Ed.D., Governing Board Chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD).

For the third year in a row, AQMD will exchange 1,500 older leaf blowers for a low-polluting and lower-noise model manufactured by STIHL.  The new blowers will be sold for $200 plus tax, representing a $270 discount from the retail price of $470.  The old blowers will be scrapped.

In one year, the average blower emits as much pollution as 80 new cars, each driven 12,500 miles.  In contrast, the STIHL models are nearly four times cleaner than the California Air Resources Board’s standard for new blowers. 

To qualify for the leaf blower exchange, participants must pre-register by calling (888) 425-6247 from Tuesday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Spanish-speaking operators are available during those hours. The program is open to professional gardeners and landscapers who live and work in AQMD’s four-county jurisdiction.  Exchanged blowers must be fully operational. Each gardening and landscaping business may exchange up to 10 blowers.  Cash, checks or major credit cards will be accepted.

Program participants also are eligible for a $25 discount on selected STIHL gardening equipment on the day of the exchange.

Exchanges start at 8 a.m. and end about 1 p.m. at these locations:

In addition to causing air pollution, leaf blowers are a frequent source of complaints due to their loud noise.  The STIHL BR 500 blower is a gas-powered, non-traditional four-stroke model that also has one of the lowest noise ratings -- 65 decibels or 40 times quieter than a two-stroke backpack blower’s average level of 79 decibels.

AQMD’s leaf blower exchange program is modeled on the agency’s highly successful residential lawn mower exchange program.  Since 2003, AQMD has exchanged nearly 24,000 highly polluting gas-powered mowers for zero-emitting electric models.

The program is funded with $267,000 from AQMD’s Air Quality Investment Program, which is financed by Southland companies that pay a fee in lieu of offering rideshare incentives as required by AQMD’s Rule 2202.  The leaf blower exchange program will reduce more emissions than would be achieved by an employer rideshare program.

AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

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